India 1819 - Matthew Hervey is charged with raising a new troop, and organising transport for India - for he, his men and their horses are to set sail with immediate effect. What Hervey and his greenhorn soldiers cannot know is that in India they will face a trial for which they are ill prepared. A large number of Burmese war-boats are assembled near Chittagong, and the only way to thwart their advance involves a hazardous march through the jungle. Soon Hervey and his troop are in the midst of hot and bloody action once again… The book picks up a pace that mirrors a cavalry charge …Hervey continues to grow in stature, while Mallinson himself continues to delight. - Observer .